Air Canada denies allegation of discrimination from Muslim passenger

A Halifax man’s complaint being considered by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal involves the alleged victim’s skin colour, ethnic origin and religion — and commercial air travel in a post-9-11 world.

Mohamed Yaffa, a Muslim who is black, is alleging Air Canada “subjected him to enhanced security screening” because of his background, said a recent tribunal ruling. It said the checks were made on six occasions from March to June 2010.

Air Canada, the respondent in the case, has said it hasn’t discriminated against Yaffa, who works for Capital Health in the field of diversity and inclusion.

The airline said it was “simply following American as well as Canadian aviation security requirements, including each country’s no-fly lists” in interacting with the complainant.

Yaffa’s complaint is addressed in an Aug. 8 ruling from the tribunal, a federal agency in Ottawa that holds public hearings examining complaints referred by the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

He alleges the “enhanced” security screening has harmed his mental health.

“I have used my vacation days from my work to pursue healing,” the tribunal’s ruling quotes Yaffa as saying.

He couldn’t be reached Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the air carrier told The Chronicle Herald “like all airlines, Air Canada screens passengers for several reasons.”

Isabelle Arthur said the company is required by Ottawa to enforce the Canadian government’s no-fly list, and for flights to and from the United States, “we are obligated by law to enforce” the U.S. no-fly list.

“Like all airlines, indeed like most companies, we also screen our customers for a variety of reasons,” Arthur said in an email.

She said it’s “important to note, that in the vast … majority of cases, people who are identified for additional screening are not the actual person on a list. It is just that they share a common name.”

Yaffa’s complaint is at the case-management stage at the tribunal. David Thomas, a one-member panel from the agency, has ordered a variety of material be provided from Air Canada, Yaffa and the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

The commission transferred the man’s complaint to the tribunal two years ago.

Tribunal spokesman Michel Parent said any of the three parties could object to the disclosure of information. Should that happen, a separate review would be done by the tribunal to consider the reasons for not wanting to pass on documents.

Parent said it’s too early to say when — or if — a public hearing will be set to gather sworn testimony about Yaffa’s complaint. The parties could settle the grievance, or the tribunal may decide the allegations don’t warrant a hearing.

The commission did its own investigation into Yaffa’s allegations, said Parent.

“In the event that they can’t find an agreement, then they transfer (the complaint) over to the tribunal,” he said.